Sensex, Nifty open lower amid crude spike, geopolitical tension

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower on Tuesday for the second consecutive day in morning trade, with both indices declining around 0.5 per cent amid geopolitical tensions.

Sensex declined as much as 0.62 per cent or 474 points to trade at an intraday low of 75,541 in early trade, while Nifty was seen trading at 23,689, down 0.53 per cent or 126 points from the previous close.

Sector-wise, IT, chemicals, realty, cement and financial indices were among the top losers, declining by over 2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Bajaj Finance were among the top laggards.

In contrast, Nifty Metal, Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty PSU Bank were the only sectors trading in the green.

Earlier in the day, the Sensex opened at 75,688.39, down 0.43 per cent or 326 points, while the 50-scrip basket began the session at 23,722.60, lower by 0.4 per cent or 93 points.

In commodities, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.09 per cent to $105.35 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.23 per cent to $99.28 per barrel.

Among global equities, Asian markets showed a mixed trend. Japan’s Nikkei traded 0.48 per cent higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.31 per cent, while South Korea’s KOSPI declined more than 2 per cent.

Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 closed 0.19 per cent higher, while the Nasdaq settled 0.10 per cent up.